MTC device ping messages via tracking area updates

ABSTRACT

A computer device may include logic configured to intercept a tracking area update response from a wireless network device to a user equipment device and trigger a device ping process for the user equipment device, in response to intercepting the tracking area update response. The logic may be further configured to generate a device ping message based on the triggering; send the device ping message to an application system associated with the user equipment device; receive a device ping response from the application system; incorporate information from the device ping response into the intercepted tracking area update response; and send the tracking area update response with the incorporated device ping information to the user equipment device.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In order to satisfy the needs and demands of users of mobilecommunication devices, providers of wireless communication servicescontinue to improve and expand available services as well as networksused to deliver such services. One aspect of such improvements includesthe development of wireless access networks as well as options toutilize such wireless access networks. A wireless access network maymanage a large number of devices. For example, a base station mayservice a large number of wireless devices. At times, users of thewireless devices may select to communicate or receive information withina particular period of time, overwhelming the resources of the basestation or the wireless access network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an environment according to animplementation described herein;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of the accessnetwork of FIG. 1 and exemplary components of an Internet ProtocolMultimedia Subsystem network that may be included in the core network ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a device thatmay be included in a component of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functional components of thedevice of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of the userequipment device or base station of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functional components of theuser equipment device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary signal flow overviewaccording to an implementation described herein;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process for configuring a new user equipmentdevice according to an implementation described herein;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process for using a tracking area update fora ping message according to an implementation described herein;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process for receiving a ping message via atracking area update according to an implementation described herein;and

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary signal flow according to animplementation described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same orsimilar elements.

A provider of wireless communication services may manage wireless accessnetworks that include a large number of network devices. For example, awireless access network may provide communication services for devicesin Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Such devices may communicateusing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, such as machine-typecommunication (MTC), a type of M2M communication standardized by the3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and/or another type of M2Mcommunication. Examples of MTC devices may include utility meters,parking meters, road sensors, environmental sensors, security sensors,traffic and/or road lights, traffic cameras, advertising displays,vehicle telematics devices, point-of-sale terminals, vending machines,health monitoring devices, remote diagnostics devices, access controldevice, manufacturing controllers, and/or other types of devices. MTCdevices are envisioned to increase exponentially and may result in alarge number of such devices being serviced by a wireless accessnetwork. Estimates indicate that the number of MTC devices within awireless operator's network may increase to hundreds of millions ofdevices communicating with each other autonomously with little to nohuman intervention.

While in many cases the data consumption of MTC devices may be small(e.g., 1 Megabyte or less) compared to other types of devices, such asmobile phones used for voice communication or for receiving streamingcontent, significant challenges may nevertheless arise when a largenumber of MTC devices are connected to a network. For example, MTCdevices may maintain connectivity with a host device, such as anapplication system, using ping messages.

“Ping,” also known as Packet Internet Groper, is a network utility usedin digital communication. The ping utility, which operates by sendingInternet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo request packets to atarget host, was originally designed for Local Area Network (LAN) basedcommunication to test the quality of the network connection between aremote device and the host. The result of a ping test may include, forexample, the summary of the round-trip time from transmission toreception and/or information relating to any packet loss associated withthe transmission. Furthermore, the ping utility may be executed withvarious commands to enable particular operational modes.

The ping utility may be used by mobile wireless devices to establish andmaintain connectivity with mobile applications that reside on a remotelocation, such as on a server device on the Internet or on a wirelessaccess network device. For example, a mobile wireless device may sendping messages at regular intervals to an application server to keep abearer channel active between the mobile wireless device and theapplication server. The ping messages inform the application server thatthe mobile wireless device is connected and ready to exchangeinformation. Use of ping messages may tie up network resources, such asradio link resources, as well as other types of wireless access networkresources. For example, some MTC devices may be configured to send aping message to a host device on the network once a minute or evenseveral times per minute.

Implementations described herein relate to making use of a Tracking AreaUpdate (TAU) procedure to exchange messages between a wireless device,also referred to herein as a user equipment (UE) device, and a remotehost device. This use of the TAU procedure may be used to exchange pingmessages and/or other types of messages between the UE device and theremote host device, such as an application server. The wireless networkdevice that manages the TAU procedure may thus serve as an intermediatecommunicator between the UE device and the remote host device, so thatthe UE device does not have to ping the remote device and tie upwireless network resources. In general, a TAU procedure may be triggeredat a less frequent interval than a ping procedure, resulting in areduced number of messages sent over a radio link of a wireless accessnetwork. The TAU procedure thus does not continuously hold up the radiolink. In turn, network resources may be saved from being unnecessarilyallocated to a device that only requires periodic communication, therebyallowing for increased network capacity and efficiency. Furthermore, asthe number of MTC devices in the network increases, the use of a TAUprocedure to provide an exchange of messages with the MTC devices may bemore scalable.

TAU may be used to periodically notify the network about theavailability and location of a UE device. The TAU procedure may becontrolled by the UE device using a periodic tracking area update timer(e.g., timer T3412). The value of the timer is sent by the network tothe UE device in an ATTACH ACCEPT message and may be sent in a TRACKINGAREA UPDATE ACCEPT message and/or another type of message. The UE devicemay apply the timer value in all tracking areas of a list of trackingareas assigned to the UE device, until a new value is received. Forexample, a TAU may be triggered by a mobile UE when the UE detects thatit has moved to a new tracking area. As another example, a TAU may betriggered when a TAU timer expires. Thus, when the TAU timer expires,the UE device may trigger the TAU procedure and contact the wirelessaccess network. For example, many MTC devices may be stationary and maynot move into new tracking areas. TAU timer value may also beconfigurable and may be customized by the network operator based on theUE device and the application that it tries to access. However, MTCdevices may be required to run a TAU timer and may contact a node of awireless access network, such as a Mobility Management Entity (MME)device of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless access network, each timethe TAU timer runs out.

In order to enable communication between a UE device and a remote hostdevice, a new function may be defined in the wireless access networkcalled an MTC Device Status Update (M-DSU) proxy. In someimplementations, the M-DSU proxy may be implemented within a MME device.In other implementations, the M-DSU proxy may be implemented in astand-alone device or in another device of a wireless access network.M-DSU proxy may be configured to intercept a TAU message from a UEdevice and to generate a message to a remote host device associated withthe UE device, such as an application server. The M-DSU proxy mayreceive a response from the remote host device and may incorporate theresponse into a TAU response that is sent back to the UE device.

A computer device, such as an MME device, and/or the remote host device,such as the application server, may instruct or otherwise configure theUE device to cease sending ping messages to the remote host device. TheUE device may be instructed to instead retrieve ping message informationfrom TAU responses received from the wireless access network. The UEdevice may then send a TAU message to the wireless access network when aTAU timer expires, and/or based on another type of triggering event suchas a detected alarm condition, a detected fault condition, and/or adetected sensor event.

The computer device may receive the TAU request from a UE device andprocess the TAU request by sending the TAU request to a Home SubscriberServer (HSS) device (and/or to another wireless network device). Thecomputer device may receive a TAU response from the HSS, intercept theTAU response, and trigger a device ping process in response tointercepting the TAU response. The computer device may generate a deviceping message based on the triggering and send the device ping message toan application system associated with the UE device. The computer devicemay receive a device ping response from the application system,incorporate information from the device ping response into theintercepted TAU response, and send the TAU response with theincorporated device ping information to the UE device. The UE device mayreceive the TAU response, retrieve the device ping information from thereceived TAU response, and process the retrieved device pinginformation.

In some implementations, the UE device may correspond to an MTC device.In other implementations, the UE device may correspond to a user device,such as a handheld mobile wireless communication device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet, etc.). In some implementations, the device pinginformation incorporated into the TAU response may include ping messageinformation, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated withthe application system, packet loss information, roundtrip timeinformation, and/or other types of ping message information. In otherimplementations, the device ping information may include additional ordifferent types of information. For example, the device ping informationmay include an update from the application system for the UE device. Theupdate may include instructions for the UE device, an application updatefor the UE device, a request for the UE device to provide a particulartype of information to the application system, authenticationinformation for the UE device, and/or other types of information.

In some implementations, when the computer device generates the deviceping message for the application system, the computer device may includeadditional information in the device ping message. For example, thecomputer device may include in the device ping message informationassociated with the UE device, such as location information for the UEdevice, information identifying a state of the UE device (e.g., active,idle, powered down, etc.), information identifying group membership forthe UE device (e.g., a particular sensor set, etc.), informationidentifying a battery level for the UE device, information identifyingone or more signal quality metrics for the UE device, and/or other typesof UE information. In some implementations, the UE device may beconfigured to provide some or all of the UE information in the TAUmessage sent to the wireless access network. In other implementations,the wireless access network may query the UE device for some or all ofthe UE information. In yet other implementations, the wireless accessnetwork may maintain some or all of the UE information in a databaseand/or may obtain the UE information using another technique.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary environment 100 in which the systemsand/or methods, described herein, may be implemented. As shown in FIG.1, environment 100 may include user equipment (UE) devices 110-A to110-N (referred to herein collectively as “UE devices 110” andindividually as “UE device 110”), an access network 120, a core network140, and an application system 150.

In some implementations, UE device 110 may correspond to an embeddedwireless device that communicates wirelessly with other devices over anM2M interface using MTC and/or another type of M2M communication. As anexample, UE device 110 may be electrically connected to a sensor device,an actuator device, a microcontroller controlling one or more sensors, amicrocontroller controlling one or more actuators, a microcontrollerthat performs data processing, and/or another type of MTC device.Examples of such devices may include a health monitoring device (e.g., ablood pressure monitoring device, a blood glucose monitoring device,etc.), an asset tracking device (e.g., a system monitoring thegeographic location of a fleet of vehicles, etc.), a traffic managementdevice (e.g., a traffic light, traffic camera, road sensor, roadillumination light, etc.), a device controlling one or more functions ofa vehicle (e.g., a climate control system, an engine monitoring system,etc.), a device controlling an electronic sign (e.g., an electronicbillboard, etc.), a device controlling a manufacturing system (e.g., arobot arm, an assembly line, etc.), a device controlling a securitysystem (e.g., a camera, a motion sensor, a window sensor, etc.), adevice controlling a power system (e.g., a smart grid monitoring device,a utility meter, a fault diagnostics device, etc.), a device controllinga financial transaction system (e.g., a point-of-sale terminal, avending machine, a parking meter, etc.), and/or another type ofelectronic device.

In other implementations, UE device 110 may include a handheld wirelesscommunication device (e.g., a mobile phone, a smart phone, a phabletdevice, etc.); a wearable computer device (e.g., a head-mounted displaycomputer device, a head-mounted camera device, a wristwatch computerdevice, etc.), a global positioning system (GPS) device; a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, or another type of portable computer; amedia playing device; a portable gaming system; a home appliance device;a home monitoring device; and/or any other type of computer device withwireless communication capabilities.

Access network 120 may provide access to core network 140 for wirelessdevices, such as UE device 110. Access network 120 may enable UE device110 to provide mobile telephone service and/or data services to UEdevice 110. Access network 120 may include a base station 130 and UEdevice 110 may wirelessly communicate with access network 120 via basestation 130. Base station 130 may service UE devices 110-A to 110-N. Inother words, UE devices 110-A to 110-N may be located within thegeographic area serviced by base station 130. Access network 120 mayestablish a packet data network connection between UE device 110 andcore network 140. For example, access network 120 may establish anInternet Protocol (IP) connection between UE device 110 and core network140.

In some implementations, access network 120 may include a Long TermEvolution (LTE) access network (e.g., an evolved packet core (EPC)network) based on the LTE standard specified by the 3^(rd) GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP) and/or other standards. In otherimplementations, access network 120 may include a Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) access network based on, for example, a CDMA2000 standard.For example, the CDMA access network may include a CDMA enhanced HighRate Packet Data (eHRPD) network (which may provide access to an LTEaccess network).

Core network 140 may include a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), an optical network, acable television network, a satellite network, a wireless network (e.g.,a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, a general packet radioservice (GPRS) network, and/or an LTE network), an ad hoc network, atelephone network (e.g., the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) ora cellular network), an intranet, the Internet, or a combination ofnetworks. Core network 140 may allow the delivery of Internet Protocol(IP) services to UE device 110, and may interface with other externalnetworks. Core network 140 may include one or more server devices and/ornetwork devices, or other types of computation or communication devices.In one example implementation, core network 140 may include an InternetProtocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network (not shown in FIG. 1). AnIMS network may include a network for delivering IP multimedia servicesas specified by 3GPP or other standards/protocols and may provide mediaflows between UE device 110 and external IP networks or externalcircuit-switched networks (not shown in FIG. 1).

Application system 150 may include one or more devices, such as computerdevices and/or hardware or software server devices, which hosts one ormore applications to manage UE devices 110-A to 110-N. For example,application system 150 may be configured to exchange ping messages withUE devices 110. Application system 150 may register UE device 110,authenticate UE device 110, configure UE device 110, and/or otherwisemanage UE device 110. Furthermore, application system 150 may provideinstructions to UE device 110 to perform one or more actions, mayrequest that UE device 110 send data to application system 150, mayprovide data to UE device 110, may send an update to UE device 110,and/or may perform another type of action with respect to UE device 110.

Although FIG. 1 shows exemplary components of environment 100, in otherimplementations, environment 100 may include fewer components, differentcomponents, differently arranged components, or additional functionalcomponents than depicted in FIG. 1. Additionally or alternatively, oneor more components of environment 100 may perform functions described asbeing performed by one or more other components of environment 100.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of a system 200that includes access network 120 and an IMS network 201 according to animplementation described herein. IMS network 201 may be included in corenetwork 140 and may include a network for delivering IP multimediaservices as specified by 3GPP or other standards/protocols and mayprovide media flows between UE device 110 and external IP networks orexternal circuit-switched networks. In some implementations, IMS network201 may be used to deliver an update from update system 150 to UE device110.

As shown in FIG. 2, system 200 may include UE device 110, access network120, and IMS network 201. Access network 120 may correspond to a LongTerm Evolution (LTE) access network. Access network 120 may include oneor more devices that implement logical entities interconnected viastandardized interfaces, and that provide wireless packet-switchedservices and wireless IP connectivity to user devices for both data andvoice services. Access network 120 may include eNodeB 210 (correspondingto base station 130), a mobility management entity (MME) 220, a servinggateway (SGW) 230, a packet data network gateway (PGW) 240, a homesubscriber server (HSS) 250, and a Policy and Charging Rules Function(PCRF) 260. IMS network 201 may include a Call Session Control Function(CSCF) 280 and an application server (AS) 282. While FIG. 2 depicts asingle eNodeB 210, MME 220, SGW 230, PGW 240, HSS 250, PCRF 260, CSCF280, and AS 282 for illustration purposes, in other implementations,FIG. 2 may include multiple eNodeBs 210, MMES 220, SGWs 230, PGWs 240,HSS 250, PCRFs 260, CSCFs 280, and/or AS 282.

eNodeB 210 may include one or more devices (e.g., base stations) andother components and functionality that allow UE device 110 towirelessly connect to access network 120. eNodeB 210 may include or beassociated with one or more cells. For example, each cell may include aradio frequency (RF) transceiver facing a particular direction. eNodeB210 may interface with access network 120 via an interface referred toas an S1 interface, which may be split into a control plane S1-MMEinterface 262 and a data plane S1-U interface 264. S1-MME interface 262may interface with MME 220. S1-MME interface 262 may be implemented, forexample, with a protocol stack that includes a Network Access Stratum(NAS) protocol and/or Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). AnS1-U interface 264 may interface with SGW 230 and may be implemented,for example, using GTPv2.

MME 220 may implement control plane processing for access network 120.For example, MME 220 may implement tracking and paging procedures for UEdevice 110, may activate and deactivate bearers for UE device 110, mayauthenticate a user of UE device 110, and may interface to non-LTE radioaccess networks. A bearer may represent a logical channel withparticular quality of service (QoS) requirements. MME 220 may alsoselect a particular SGW 230 for a particular UE device 110. A particularMME 220 may interface with other MMES 220 in access network 120 and maysend and receive information associated with UE devices 110, which mayallow one MME 220 to take over control plane processing of UE devicesserviced by another MME 220, if the other MME 220 becomes unavailable.

SGW 230 may provide an access point to and from UE device 110, mayhandle forwarding of data packets for UE device 110, and may act as alocal anchor point during handover procedures between eNodeBs 210. SGW230 may interface with PGW 240 through an S5/S8 interface 268. S5/S8interface 268 may be implemented, for example, using GTPv2.

PGW 240 may function as a gateway to core network 140 and/or IMS network201 through an SGi interface 270. A particular UE device 110, whileconnected to a single SGW 230, may be connected to multiple PGWs 240,one for each packet network with which UE device 110 communicates.

MME 220 may communicate with SGW 230 through an S11 interface 266. S11interface 266 may be implemented, for example, using GTPv2. S11interface 266 may be used to create and manage a new session for aparticular UE device 110. S11 interface 266 may be activated when MME220 needs to communicate with SGW 230, such as when the particular UEdevice 110 attaches to access network 120, when bearers need to be addedor modified for an existing session for the particular UE device 110,when a connection to a new PGW 240 needs to be created, or during ahandover procedure (e.g., when the particular UE device 110 needs toswitch to a different SGW 230).

HSS 250 may store information associated with UE devices 110 and/orinformation associated with users of UE devices 110. For example, HSS250 may store subscription profiles that include authentication andaccess authorization information. Each subscription profile may includea list of UE devices 110 associated with the subscription as well as anindication of which UE device 110 is active (e. g., authorized toconnect to access network 120 and to IMS network 201 via access network120).

MME 220 may communicate with HSS 250 through an S6a interface 272. S6ainterface 272 may be implemented, for example, using a Diameterprotocol. PGW 240 may communicate with HSS 250 through an S6b interface274. S6b interface 274 may be implemented, for example, using a Diameterprotocol.

PCRF 260 may implement policy charging and rule functions, such asestablishing QoS requirements, bandwidth, and/or charges for aparticular service for a UE device 110. PCRF 260 may communicate withPGW 240 through an S7 interface 276 and may communicate with HSS 250through a Ud interface 278. S7 interface 276 may be based on a legacy Gxinterface and may be implemented, for example, using Diameter protocol.Ud interface 278 may be used to exchange subscription data between PCRF260 and HSS 250 and may be based on a provider specified protocol.

IMS network 201 may be associated with an IMS core identity for aparticular subscription for UE device 110. HSS 250 may receiveinformation identifying the IMS core identity for a subscription and mayprovide the IMS core identity to a particular UE device 110 that isconnected to access network 120. CSCF 280 may handle signaling,controlling of media paths, and activation of applications in IMSnetwork 201. AS 282 may implement particular services and interact withCSCF 280 to deliver the particular services to UE device 110. Examplesof services provided by AS 282 may include update services forapplication system 150. CSCF 280 may communicate with PCRF 260 throughan Rx interface 286 and may communicate with HSS 250 through a Cxinterface 288. Rx interface 286 and Cx interface 288 may be implemented,for example, using Diameter protocol. AS 282 may communicate with HSS250 through an Sh interface 290. Sh interface 290 may be implemented,for example, using Diameter protocol. In some implementations,application system 150 may include AS 282. In other implementations,application system 150 may be separate from IMS network 201.

Although FIG. 2 shows exemplary components of access network 120 and IMSnetwork 201, in other implementations, access network 120 and/or IMSnetwork 201 may include fewer components, different components,differently arranged components, or additional components than depictedin FIG. 2. Additionally or alternatively, one or more components ofaccess network 120 and/or IMS network 201 may perform functionsdescribed as being performed by one or more other components of accessnetwork 120 and/or IMS network 201.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of device 300according to an implementation described herein. MME 220, SGW 230, PGW240, HSS 250. PCRF 260, CSCF 280, AS 282, and/or application system 150may each include one or more devices 300. As shown in FIG. 3, device 300may include a bus 310, a processor 320, a memory 330, an input device340, an output device 350, and a communication interface 360.

Bus 310 may include a path that permits communication among thecomponents of device 300. Processor 320 may include any type ofsingle-core processor, multi-core processor, microprocessor, latch-basedprocessor, and/or processing logic (or families of processors,microprocessors, and/or processing logics) that interprets and executesinstructions. In other embodiments, processor 320 may include anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmablegate array (FPGA), and/or another type of integrated circuit orprocessing logic.

Memory 330 may include any type of dynamic storage device that may storeinformation and/or instructions, for execution by processor 320, and/orany type of non-volatile storage device that may store information foruse by processor 320. For example, memory 330 may include a randomaccess memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage device, aread-only memory (ROM) device or another type of static storage device,a content addressable memory (CAM), a magnetic and/or optical recordingmemory device and its corresponding drive (e.g., a hard disk drive,optical drive, etc.), and/or a removable form of memory, such as a flashmemory.

Input device 340 may allow an operator to input information into device300. Input device 340 may include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, apen, a microphone, a remote control, an audio capture device, an imageand/or video capture device, a touch-screen display, and/or another typeof input device. In some embodiments, device 300 may be managed remotelyand may not include input device 340. In other words, device 300 may be“headless” and may not include a keyboard, for example.

Output device 350 may output information to an operator of device 300.Output device 350 may include a display, a printer, a speaker, and/oranother type of output device. For example, device 300 may include adisplay, which may include a liquid-crystal display (LCD) for displayingcontent to the customer. In some embodiments, device 300 may be managedremotely and may not include output device 350. In other words, device300 may be “headless” and may not include a display, for example.

Communication interface 360 may include a transceiver that enablesdevice 300 to communicate with other devices and/or systems via wirelesscommunications (e.g., radio frequency, infrared, and/or visual optics,etc.), wired communications (e.g., conductive wire, twisted pair cable,coaxial cable, transmission line, fiber optic cable, and/or waveguide,etc.), or a combination of wireless and wired communications.Communication interface 360 may include a transmitter that convertsbaseband signals to RF signals and/or a receiver that converts RFsignals to baseband signals. Communication interface 360 may be coupledto an antenna for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

Communication interface 360 may include a logical component thatincludes input and/or output ports, input and/or output systems, and/orother input and output components that facilitate the transmission ofdata to other devices. For example, communication interface 360 mayinclude a network interface card (e.g., Ethernet card) for wiredcommunications and/or a wireless network interface (e.g., a WiFi) cardfor wireless communications. Communication interface 360 may alsoinclude a universal serial bus (USB) port for communications over acable, a Bluetooth™ wireless interface, a radio-frequency identification(RFID) interface, a near-field communications (NFC) wireless interface,and/or any other type of interface that converts data from one form toanother form.

As will be described in detail below, device 300 may perform certainoperations relating to sending, receiving, and/or processing of pingmessages, or other types of messages, via tracking area updates. Device300 may perform these operations in response to processor 320 executingsoftware instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such asmemory 330. A computer-readable medium may be defined as anon-transitory memory device. A memory device may be implemented withina single physical memory device or spread across multiple physicalmemory devices. The software instructions may be read into memory 330from another computer-readable medium or from another device. Thesoftware instructions contained in memory 330 may cause processor 320 toperform processes described herein. Alternatively, hardwired circuitrymay be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructionsto implement processes described herein. Thus, implementations describedherein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitryand software.

Although FIG. 3 shows exemplary components of device 300, in otherimplementations, device 300 may include fewer components, differentcomponents, additional components, or differently arranged componentsthan depicted in FIG. 3. Additionally or alternatively, one or morecomponents of device 300 may perform one or more tasks described asbeing performed by one or more other components of device 300.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a device 400 that includes exemplaryfunctional components implemented in MME 220. In other implementations,some or all of device 400 may be implemented by one or more othercomponents of access network 120, such as a stand-alone MTC devicestatus update proxy device that is separate from MME 220, and/or byanother component of access network 120 (e.g., eNodeB 210, SGW 230, PGW240, HSS 250, etc.). The functional components of device 400 may beimplemented, for example, via processor 320 executing instructions frommemory 330 (or via processing unit 510 of FIG. 5 discussed belowexecuting instructions from memory 520 if device 400 is included ineNodeB 210). Alternatively, some or all of the functional componentsincluded in system 400 may be implemented via hard-wired circuitry. Asshown in FIG. 4, device 400 may include a TAU manager 410, a UE database(DB) 420, and an M-DSU proxy 430.

TAU manager 410 may manage the sending and receiving of TAU messages andTAU responses based on information stored in UE DB 420. UE DB 420 maystore information relating to particular UE device 110. For example, UEDB 420 may associate a particular UE device 110 with a particular HSS250 and with a particular tracking area. Furthermore, in someimplementations, UE DB 420 may store additional information collected byMME 220 that may be sent to application system 150 in a ping message,such as location information for UE device 110, information identifyinga state of UE device 110 (e.g., whether UE device 110 is active, idle,powered down, etc.), information identifying group membership for UEdevice 110 (e.g., a particular sensor set, a particular subscription,etc.), information identifying a battery level for UE device 110,information identifying one or more signal quality metrics for UE device110, and/or other types of UE device information.

TAU manager 410 may receive a TAU message from UE device 110, providethe TAU message to HSS 250 associated with UE device 110 based oninformation stored in UE DB 420, receive a TAU response from HSS 250,and provide the TAU response to UE device 110. The TAU response may beintercepted by M-DSU proxy 430 before the TAU response is sent to UEdevice 110.

M-DSU proxy 430 may be configured to send ping messages to applicationsystem 150 on behalf of UE device 110 and receive ping message responsesfrom application system 150 for UE device 110. M-DSU proxy 430 mayinclude a TAU monitor 440, a message generator 450, an applicationsystem (AS) DB 460, and an application server interface 470.

TAU monitor 440 may monitor TAU manager 410 for TAU response messages.When a TAU response message is detected, TAU monitor 440 may interceptthe TAU response and prevent TAU manager 410 from sending the TAUresponse to UE device 110 until a ping response is received fromapplication system 150 and incorporated into the TAU response.

Message generator 450 may generate a ping message in response to TAUmonitor 440 intercepting a TAU message. Message generator 450 maygenerate a device ping message based on information stored in AS DB 460.AS DB 460 may store information that associates particular UE devices110 with particular application systems 150. For example, for aparticular UE device 110, AS DB 460 may store information identifying anapplication system 150 associated with the particular UE device 110. Insome implementations, a particular UE device 110 may be associated withmultiple application systems 150. For example, the particular UE device110 may be running multiple applications and each application may beassociated with a particular application system 150. Message generator450 may generate a device ping message for each application system 150associated with the particular UE device 110.

Application server interface 470 may communicate with application system150. For example, application server interface 470 may establish acommunication session with application system 150 and may send thegenerated device ping message to application system 150. Furthermore,application server interface 470 may receive a ping response fromapplication system 150. M-DSU proxy 430 may incorporate information fromthe received ping response into the intercepted TAU response.

Although FIG. 4 shows exemplary components of device 400, in otherimplementations, device 400 may include fewer components, differentcomponents, additional components, or differently arranged componentsthan depicted in FIG. 4. Additionally or alternatively, one or morecomponents of device 400 may perform one or more tasks described asbeing performed by one or more other components of device 400. Forexample, while M-DSU proxy 430 is shown as being implemented in device400, in other implementations, M-DSU proxy 430 may be implemented in aseparate device from the other components of device 400. For example,device 400 may be implemented in MME 220 and M-DSU proxy 430 may beimplemented in a device separate from MME 220.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating exemplary components of device 500according to an implementation described herein. UE 110 and/or eNodeB210 may each include one or more of devices 500. As shown in FIG. 5,device 500 may include a processing unit 510, a memory 520, a userinterface 530, a communication interface 540, and an antenna assembly550.

Processing unit 510 may include one or more single-core or multi-coreprocessors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),graphical processing units (GPUs), and/or other processing logic.Processing unit 510 may control operation of device 500 and itscomponents.

Memory 520 may include any type of dynamic storage device that may storeinformation and/or instructions, for execution by processing unit 510,and/or any type of non-volatile storage device that may storeinformation for use by processing unit 510. For example, memory 520 mayinclude a random access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storagedevice, a read-only memory (ROM) device or another type of staticstorage device, a content addressable memory (CAM), a magnetic and/oroptical recording memory device and its corresponding drive (e.g., ahard disk drive, optical drive, etc.), and/or a removable form ofmemory, such as a flash memory.

User interface 530 may allow a user to input information to device 500and/or to output information from device 500. Examples of user interface530 may include a speaker to receive electrical signals and output audiosignals; a camera to receive image and/or video signals and outputelectrical signals; a microphone to receive sounds and output electricalsignals; buttons (e.g., a joystick, control buttons, a keyboard, or keysof a keypad) and/or a touchscreen to receive control commands; adisplay, such as an LCD, to output visual information; an actuator tocause device 500 to vibrate; and/or any other type of input or outputdevice. In some implementations, device 500 may be managed remotely andmay not include user interface 530. In other words, device 500 may be“headless” and may not include a display, for example.

Communication interface 540 may include a transceiver that enablesdevice 500 to communicate with other devices and/or systems via wirelesscommunications (e.g., radio frequency (RF), infrared, and/or visualoptics, etc.), wired communications (e.g., conductive wire, twisted paircable, coaxial cable, transmission line, fiber optic cable, and/orwaveguide, etc.), or a combination of wireless and wired communications.Communication interface 540 may include a transmitter that convertsbaseband signals to RF signals and/or a receiver that converts RFsignals to baseband signals. Communication interface 540 may be coupledto antenna assembly 550 for transmitting and receiving RF signals.

Communication interface 540 may also include a logical component thatincludes input and/or output ports, input and/or output systems, and/orother input and output components that facilitate the transmission ofdata to other devices. For example, communication interface 540 mayinclude a network interface card (e.g., Ethernet card) for wiredcommunications and/or a wireless network interface (e.g., a WiFi) cardfor wireless communications. Communication interface 540 may alsoinclude a universal serial bus (USB) port for communications over acable, a Bluetooth™ wireless interface, a radio-frequency identification(RFID) interface, a near-field communications (NFC) wireless interface,and/or any other type of interface that converts data from one form toanother form.

Antenna assembly 550 may include one or more antennas to transmit and/orreceive RF signals. Antenna assembly 550 may, for example, receive RFsignals from communication interface 540 and transmit the signals andreceive RF signals and provide them to communication interface 540.

As described herein, device 500 may perform certain operations inresponse to processing unit 510 executing software instructionscontained in a computer-readable medium, such as memory 520. Acomputer-readable medium may be defined as a non-transitory memorydevice. A non-transitory memory device may include memory space within asingle physical memory device or spread across multiple physical memorydevices. The software instructions may be read into memory 520 fromanother computer-readable medium or from another device viacommunication interface 540. The software instructions contained inmemory 520 may cause processing unit 510 to perform processes that willbe described later. Alternatively, hardwired circuitry may be used inplace of, or in combination with, software instructions to implementprocesses described herein. Thus, implementations described herein arenot limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry andsoftware.

Although FIG. 5 shows example components of device 500, in otherimplementations, device 500 may include fewer components, differentcomponents, differently arranged components, or additional componentsthan depicted in FIG. 5. Additionally or alternatively, one or morecomponents of device 500 may perform the tasks described as beingperformed by one or more other components of device 500.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating exemplary functional components of UEdevice 110 according to an implementation described herein. Thefunctional components of UE device 110 may be implemented, for example,via processing unit 510 executing instructions from memory 520.Alternatively, some or all of the functional components of UE device 110may be implemented via hard-wired circuitry (e.g., in a chipset includedas part of communication interface 540). As shown in FIG. 5, device 500may include a TAU manager 610, a ping manager 620, and a communicationmanager 630.

TAU manager 610 may generate a TAU in response to a TAU timer expiring,in response to detecting a new tracking area, and/or in response toanother type of triggering event, such as a detected alarm condition, adetected fault condition, and/or a detected sensor event. TAU manager610 may send the TAU to MME 220 and may receive a TAU response from MME220 acknowledging that the TAU has been received.

Ping manager 620 may send ping messages to application system 150 inresponse to a ping timer expiring and/or in response to another type oftriggering event, such as a detected alarm condition, a detected faultcondition, and/or a detected sensor event. Ping manager 620 may receivea ping response from application system 150 acknowledging that the pingmessage has been received and may process the ping response. Forexample, ping manager 620 may send a notification to an application orprocess running on UE device 110 indicating a quality of the connectionto application system 150 based on the received ping response.

Communication manager 630 may control TAU manager 610 and ping manager620. For example, communication manager 630 may instruct ping manager620 to cease sending ping messages to application system 150 and mayfurther instruct ping manager 620 to retrieve ping message informationfrom TAU responses received by TAU manager 610. In some implementations,communication manager 630 may instruct TAU manager 610 to includeparticular types of information intended for application system 150 whensending a TAU to MME 220 and the included information may be provided byMME 220 to application system 150 in a ping message generated based onthe TAU.

Although FIG. 6 shows exemplary functional components of UE device 110,in other implementations, UE device 110 may include fewer functionalcomponents, different functional components, differently arrangedfunctional components, or additional functional components than depictedin FIG. 6. Additionally or alternatively, one or more functionalcomponents of UE device 110 may perform functions described as beingperformed by one or more other functional components of UE device 110.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary signal flow overview 700according to an implementation described herein. As shown in FIG. 7,signal flow overview 700 includes TAU request 710 that is sent by UEdevice 110 (not shown in FIG. 7) to eNodeB 210 and forwarded by eNodeB210 to MME 220. MME 220 forward the TAU request 710 to HSS 250associated with UE device 110. HSS 250 responds with a TAU response 720,which is intercepted by M-DSU proxy 430. M-DSU proxy 430 generates aping message 730 that provides a device status update to AS 282 (whichin this implementation corresponds to application system 150). Thedevice status update may inform AS 282 that UE device 110 continues tobe available and reachable. AS 282 may respond with a ping messageresponse 740 that includes an acknowledgment of the received devicestatus update. Ping message response 740 may include informationidentifying AS 282 (e.g., an IP address for AS 282), packet lossinformation, round trip time information, and/or other types ofinformation. M-DSU proxy 430 may incorporate information from pingmessage response 740 and MME 220 may send TAU response 720 to UE device110 via eNodeB 210.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process for configuring a new user equipmentdevice according to an implementation described herein. In someimplementations, the process of FIG. 8 may be performed by MME 220. Inother implementations, some or all of the process of FIG. 8 may beperformed by another device or a group of devices separate from MME 220.For example, some or all of the process of FIG. 8 may be performed by AS282.

The process of FIG. 8 may include selecting a new UE device 110 toconfigure for ping messages via TAUs (block 810). As an example, MME 220may detect that a new UE device 110 has attached to access network 120and is associated with a tracking area managed by MME 220. Furthermore,MME 220 may determine that UE device 110 corresponds to a device typefor which ping messages over the radio link should be suppressed andsent instead using TAU messages. For an example, MME 220 may determinethat UE device 110 corresponds to an MTC device. As another example, MME220 may determine that UE device 110 has been sending ping messages at arate that exceeds a ping message rate threshold and may select toinstruct UE device 110 to cease sending ping messages (or reduce thenumber of ping messages) in order to conserve radio link resources. Asyet another example, a device managing radio link resources may directlyinstruct UE device 110 to cease sending ping messages or may instructMME 220 to instruct UE device 110 to cease sending ping messages.

An application system associated with the selected UE device 110 may beidentified (block 820) and the identified application system may beassociated with the selected UE device (block 830). For example, MME 220may determine application system 150 is associated with UE device 110and may store information identifying application system 150 (e.g., theIP address) in AS DB 460. Application system 150 associated with UEdevice 110 may be identified by querying UE device 110, by interceptingping messages sent by UE device 110 to application system 150, based oninformation provided to MME 220 by application system 150, based oninformation stored in UE DB 420, based on information received from anMTC management device, and/or using another technique.

UE device 110 may be instructed to cease pinging application system 150(block 840) and to obtain ping information via TAUs (block 850). Forexample, MME 220 may send one or more instructions to communicationmanager 630 of UE device 110 to cease sending ping messages toapplication system 150 and to retrieve ping information from TAUresponses received by UE device 110.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process for using a tracking area update fora ping message according to an implementation described herein. In someimplementations, the process of FIG. 9 may be performed by MME 220. Inother implementations, some or all of the process of FIG. 9 may beperformed by another device or a group of devices separate from MME 220.

The process of FIG. 9 may include receiving a TAU from a UE device(block 910), sending the TAU to the HSS 250 (block 915), and receiving aTAU response from HSS 250 (block 920). For example, MME 220 may receivea TAU from UE device 110, may identify HSS 250, associated with UEdevice 110, based on information stored in UE DB 420, may forward theTAU to the identified HSS 250, and may receive a TAU response from HSS250.

The TAU response may be intercepted (block 925) and a device pingmessage process for UE device 110 may be triggered (block 930). Forexample, M-DSU proxy 430 may intercept the TAU response and delay thesending of the TAU response to UE device 110 until a device ping messageprocess is carried out. A device ping message may be generated (block935) and sent to application system 150 (block 940). For example, M-DSUproxy 430 may generate a ping message and send the ping message toapplication system 150. Application system 150 may perceive the pingmessage as if it was received from UE device 110.

The ping message may include information identifying UE device 110. Insome implementations, the ping message may include additionalinformation associated with UE device 110, such as location informationfor UE device 110, information identifying a state of UE device 110(e.g., active, idle, powered down, etc.), information identifying groupmembership for UE device 110 (e.g., a particular sensor set, etc.),information identifying a battery level for UE device 110, informationidentifying one or more signal quality metrics for UE device 110, and/orother types of UE information.

A device ping response may be received from application system 150(block 945), incorporated into the TAU response (block 950), and the TAUresponse may be sent to UE device 110 (block 955). For example, M-DSUproxy 430 may receive the ping response from application system 150,incorporate information from the ping response into the intercepted TAUresponse, and MME 220 may send the TAU response with the incorporatedping response to UE device 110. The ping response information may beincluded in one or more fields of the TAU response. In someimplementations, an existing field of the TAU response may be used toinclude the ping information. In other implementations, a new field maybe added to the TAU response and the ping information may be included inthe new field.

The ping response information may include ping message information, suchas an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the applicationsystem, packet loss information, roundtrip time information, and/orother types of ping message information. Furthermore, in someimplementations, the ping response information may include additional ordifferent types of information, such as an update from applicationsystem 150. The update may include instructions for UE device 110, arequest for UE device 110 to provide a particular type of information toapplication system 150, authentication information for UE device 110,and/or other types of information.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process for receiving a ping message via atracking area update according to an implementation described herein. Insome implementations, the process of FIG. 10 may be performed by UEdevice 110. In other implementations, some or all of the process of FIG.10 may be performed by another device or a group of devices separatefrom UE device 110.

The process of FIG. 10 may include ceasing to ping application system150 (block 1010) and configuring UE device 110 to retrieve pinginformation from TAU messages (block 1020). For example, communicationmanager 630 may receive an instruction from MME 220, from applicationsystem 150, and/or from another device to cease pinging applicationsystem 150 and to retrieve ping information from messages received byTAU manager 610. In response, communication manager 630 may instructping manager 620 to cease sending ping messages and to retrieve pinginformation from TAU manager 610 when TAU manager 610 receives a TAUresponse.

A TAU message may be sent to MME 220 based on a TAU timer (block 1030)and a TAU response may be received from MME 220 (block 1040). Forexample, TAU manager 610 may detect that a TAU timer has expired, maysend a TAU request to MME 220 via eNodeB 210, and may reset the TAUtimer. TAU manager 610 may then receive a TAU response from MME 220. TheTAU response may include ping information based on a ping responsereceived by MME 220 from application system 150, as described above withrespect to FIG. 9.

Ping information may be retrieved from the received TAU response (block1050) and processed (block 1060). For example, ping manager 620 mayretrieve the ping information from the TAU response by accessing one ormore fields included in the TAU response. Ping manager 620 may thenprocess the retrieved ping information. For example, ping manager 620may inform a particular application or process running on UE device 110that the connection to application system 150 is available, may provideinformation relating to the roundtrip time or packet loss to theparticular application or process, and/or may perform another type ofaction. For example, if the packet loss information included in the pinginformation indicates that the packet loss exceeds a packet lossthreshold, ping manager 620 may send an alert to communication manager630 and communication manager 630 may attempt to improve the quality ofthe connection (e.g., by switching to a different radio link band).

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an exemplary signal flow 1100 according to animplementation described herein. Signal flow 1110 may include a triggerto start the TAU procedure, such as a TAU timer expiring (block 1110).UE device 110 may send a TAU request to eNodeB 210 (signal 1112) andeNodeB 210 may forward the TAU request to MME 220 (signal 1114). MME 220may authenticate UE 110 with HSS 250 (signals 1116 and 1118) and mayperform an authentication process with M-DSU proxy 430 (signal 1120).For example, M-DSU proxy 430 may require authentication beforeperforming a ping process on behalf of UE device 110.

MME 220 may then process the TAU request and may perform a modify bearerprocedure as part of the TAU request (e.g., if information included inthe TAU request indicates that a bearer needs to be modified). MME 220may send a modify bearer request to PGW 240 via SGW 230 (signals 1122and 1124) and PGW 240 may respond with a modify bearer response via SGW230 (signals 1126 and 1128). MME 220 may then send an update locationrequest to HSS 250 based on the TAU request (signal 1130) and HSS 250may respond with an update location acknowledgement as a TAU response(signal 1132). M-DSU proxy 430 may intercept the TAU response (signal1134) and may trigger a device ping process.

M-DSU proxy 430 may obtain information about UE device 110 (e.g.,information identifying UE device 110, such as a Global Unique TemporaryIdentifier (GUTI), etc.) and may include the information in a deviceping message sent as a device status update to application system 150via SGW 230 and PGW 240 (signals 1138, 1140, and 1142). Applicationsystem 150 may respond with a device ping message response sent as adevice status update acknowledgement message back to M-DSU proxy 430 viaPGW 240 and SGW 230 (signals 1144, 1146, and 1148). M-DSU proxy 430 mayreceive the device status update acknowledgement message and mayretrieve ping information, and/or other types of information (e.g., anupdate from application system 150), from the received message and mayincorporate the retrieved ping information into the intercepted TAUresponse (signal 1150) by providing an M-DSU status message to MME 220.The ping information may be incorporated into an existing field of theTAU response or a new field may be added to the TAU response. The TAUresponse may then be sent to UE 110 via eNodeB 210 (signal 1152) and UE110 may acknowledge that the TAU response has been received (signal1154).

The implementations described herein result in technical improvements ofa wireless access network by saving radio link resources. For example,reducing the number of ping messages and using TAU messages to exchangeinformation between UE device 110 and application system 150 may resultin a reduced number of messages and in reduced use of radio bands and/orchannels by eNodeB 210. Furthermore, less frequent sending of messagesby UE devices 110 may conserve battery life for UE devices 110.

In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims thatfollow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded inan illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

For example, while a series of blocks have been described with respectto FIGS. 8-10 and 8, and a series of signal flows has been describedwith respect to FIGS. 7 and 11, the order of the blocks and/or signalflows may be modified in other implementations. Further, non-dependentblocks may be performed in parallel.

It will be apparent that systems and/or methods, as described above, maybe implemented in many different forms of software, firmware, andhardware in the implementations illustrated in the figures. The actualsoftware code or specialized control hardware used to implement thesesystems and methods is not limiting of the embodiments. Thus, theoperation and behavior of the systems and methods were described withoutreference to the specific software code—it being understood thatsoftware and control hardware can be designed to implement the systemsand methods based on the description herein.

Further, certain portions, described above, may be implemented as acomponent that performs one or more functions. A component, as usedherein, may include hardware, such as a processor, an ASIC, or a FPGA,or a combination of hardware and software (e.g., a processor executingsoftware).

It should be emphasized that the terms “comprises”/“comprising” whenused in this specification are taken to specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps or components but does not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,components or groups thereof.

The term “logic,” as used herein, may refer to a combination of one ormore processors configured to execute instructions stored in one or morememory devices, may refer to hardwired circuitry, and/or may refer to acombination thereof. Furthermore, a logic may be included in a singledevice or may be distributed across multiple, and possibly remote,devices.

For the purposes of describing and defining the present invention, it isadditionally noted that the term “substantially” is utilized herein torepresent the inherent degree of uncertainty that may be attributed toany quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or otherrepresentation. The term “substantially” is also utilized herein torepresent the degree by which a quantitative representation may varyfrom a stated reference without resulting in a change in the basicfunction of the subject matter at issue.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store or employpersonal information provided by individuals, it should be understoodthat such information shall be used in accordance with all applicablelaws concerning protection of personal information. Additionally, thecollection, storage and use of such information may be subject toconsent of the individual to such activity, for example, through wellknown “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as may be appropriate for thesituation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation may be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

No element, act, or instruction used in the present application shouldbe construed as critical or essential to the embodiments unlessexplicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” isintended to include one or more items. Further, the phrase “based on” isintended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly statedotherwise.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method performed by a computer device, themethod comprising: intercepting, by the computer device, a tracking areaupdate response from a wireless network device to a user equipmentdevice; delaying, by the computer device, sending of the interceptedtracking area update response to the user equipment device until adevice ping process is performed; triggering, by the computer device,the device ping process for the user equipment device, in response tointercepting the tracking area update response; generating, by thecomputer device, a device ping message based on the triggering; sending,by the computer device, the device ping message to an application systemassociated with the user equipment device; receiving, by the computerdevice, a device ping response from the application system;incorporating, by the computer device, information from the device pingresponse into the intercepted tracking area update response; andsending, by the computer device, the tracking area update response withthe incorporated device ping information to the user equipment device.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a tracking areaupdate request from the user equipment device; and sending the trackingarea update request to the wireless network device, wherein the trackingarea update response from the wireless network device to the userequipment device is received in response to the tracking area updaterequest.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer device comprisesa Mobility Management Entity that includes a Machine Type Communicationdevice status update proxy configured to send ping messages to theapplication system on behalf of the user equipment device.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the computer device comprises a Machine TypeCommunication device status update proxy device configured to send pingmessages to the application system on behalf of the user equipmentdevice and is configured to receive the tracking area update responsefrom a Mobile Management Entity.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein theuser equipment device includes a Machine Type Communication device. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising: instructing the userequipment device to cease sending ping messages to the applicationsystem.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information from thedevice ping response includes ping message information, wherein the pingmessage information includes at least one of an Internet Protocoladdress of the application system, packet loss information associatedwith communication between the user equipment device and the applicationsystem, or roundtrip time associated with communication between the userequipment device and the application system.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the information from the device ping response includes an updatefrom the application system for the user equipment device.
 9. The methodof claim 8, wherein the update includes at least one of instructions forthe user equipment device, a request for the user equipment device toprovide information to the application system, or authenticationinformation for the user equipment device.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the device ping message includes information associated with theuser equipment device, wherein the information associated with the userequipment device includes at least two of: location information for theuser equipment device; information identifying a state associated withthe user equipment device; information identifying a group membershipassociated with the user equipment device; information identifying abattery level associated with the user equipment device; or informationidentifying one or more signal strength metrics associated with the userequipment device.
 11. A computer device comprising: a memory storinginstructions; and a processor configured to execute the instructions to:intercept a tracking area update response from a wireless network deviceto a user equipment device; delay sending of the intercepted trackingarea update response to the user equipment device until a device pingprocess is performed; trigger a device ping process for the userequipment device, in response to intercepting the tracking area updateresponse; generate a device ping message based on the triggering; sendthe device ping message to an application system associated with theuser equipment device; receive a device ping response from theapplication system; incorporate information from the device pingresponse into the intercepted tracking area update response; and sendthe tracking area update response with the incorporated device pinginformation to the user equipment device.
 12. The computer device ofclaim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive atracking area update request from the user equipment device; and sendthe tracking area update request to the wireless network device, whereinthe tracking area update response from the wireless network device tothe user equipment device is received in response to the tracking areaupdate request.
 13. The computer device of claim 11, wherein thecomputer device comprises a Mobility Management Entity that includes aMachine Type Communication device status update proxy configured to sendping messages to the application system on behalf of the user equipmentdevice.
 14. The computer device of claim 11, wherein the computer devicecomprises a Machine Type Communication device status update proxy deviceconfigured to send ping messages to the application system on behalf ofthe user equipment device and is configured to receive the tracking areaupdate response from a Mobile Management Entity.
 15. The computer deviceof claim 11, wherein the user equipment device include a Machine TypeCommunication device.
 16. The computer device of claim 11, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: instruct the user equipment deviceto cease sending ping messages to the application system.
 17. Thecomputer device of claim 11, wherein the information from the deviceping response includes ping message information, wherein the pingmessage information includes at least one of an Internet Protocoladdress of the application system, packet loss information associatedwith communication between the user equipment device and the applicationsystem, or roundtrip time associated with communication between the userequipment device and the application system.
 18. The computer device ofclaim 11, wherein the information from the device ping response includesan update from the application system for the user equipment device. 19.The computer device of claim 18, wherein the update includes at leastone of instructions for the user equipment device, a request for theuser equipment device to provide information to the application system,or authentication information for the user equipment device.
 20. Anon-transitory memory device storing instructions executable by one ormore processors, the non-transitory memory device comprising: one ormore instructions to receive a tracking area update response from awireless network device to a user equipment device; one or moreinstructions to delay sending of the intercepted tracking area updateresponse to the user equipment device until a device ping process isperformed; one or more instructions to trigger a device ping process forthe user equipment, in response to receiving the tracking area updateresponse; one or more instructions to generate a device ping messagebased on the triggering; one or more instructions to send the deviceping message to an application system associated with the user equipmentdevice; one or more instructions to receive a device ping response fromthe application system; one or more instructions to incorporateinformation from the device ping response into the received trackingarea update response; and one or more instructions to send the trackingarea update response with the incorporated device ping information tothe user equipment device.